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preparing for winter

WARNING: This post contains graphic photos of slaughtered animals. If seeing dead animals is upsetting to you, please skip to the next post.

After the goats are killed, they are separated by main body parts and put into large bowls. The meat is then cleaved out and laid upon a cart outside where it quickly freezes.

The stomachs of the goats are cleaned and then all of the meat is packed into them. The stomach acts like a huge Hefty garbage bag protecting the meat from dirt. Once the meat is frozen, it can be safely stored in the family’s outdoor shed.

The next morning I was invited to the main tent for Chai. One daughter and her 1-year-old niece were playing and watching television. After about 40 minutes, I wondered where the rest of the family was. I went outside just in time to watch some of the girls and their mother take a freshly killed goat inside the ger for further butchering. As they carried the goat inside, I watched as the 2nd goat kicked slightly as blood gushed from its freshly cut throat. Even though I knew that it was necessary to kill the goats in order to guarantee the family’s survival, at first it was a bit unreal to see the goat dying in front of me. I watched intently and let the memory set into my mind. I had come to see local culture and I had found it. I only remembered to take out my camera as the ladies took the second goat into the ger (below).